A HOUSE blaze caused the lights to go out in a Clayhall road after electrical wires started to burn.

A crew from Ilford and Hainault fire stations rushed to Herent Drive at 11.30pm last night after a woman’s home started filling with smoke.

Firefighters tracked down the blaze to a neighbour’s house undergoing refurbishment.

Wires in a cupboard beneath the stairs had burnt out, causing intermittent power failure to other homes in Herent Drive.

Fire crews, who spent 30 minutes controlling the blaze, had to stay at the scene for several hours while workmen fixed the power problem.

The house escaped serious fire damage and no one was inside the home at the time.

A family from the neighbouring home stayed at a friend’s house to escape the smoke.